Month: January 2010

We are sitting in a tea bar, high above Manhattan. Far below us, taxis honk and the city is a never-ending stream of fast-moving cars and people. Not here though. Here there is peace. Soft music is playing through the speakers, a smell of freshly dried tea is wafting through the air and we are… Continue reading Day #42: Ceylon

The woman is tall and very certain of herself. She is standing on a podium and has thrust herself towards the assembled crowd – leaning into it. Her brown hair is held back by a band, but fraying bits of it seem determined to escape. Her eyes are alive with excitement. She thrusts her arm… Continue reading Day #41: Licensing

Folks, I’m a bit behind. I have to write two stories today and two tomorrow. We’ll see how I go. Number one should be coming up in about an hour. Joseph

“WELCOME TO G-D VS GOD SMACKDOWN, RED SEA EDITION! We’re here live at the Red Sea in sunny Egypt for round 11 of this era’s title match: THE MUMMY vs. THE INVISIBLE G-D. I’m Jethro, high priest of Midian and with me tonight is Bilaam, seer extraordinaire. Bilaam, what are your thoughts on this match?”… Continue reading Day #40: G-D VS GOD SMACKDOWN: RED SEA EDITION

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK (DailyBomb) – “The issue of conversion has long been a hot button issue,” explains Rabbi Tzvi Goldhauber, “But this is one fight we didn’t expect.” We’re sitting in a small shteble in the middle of the Jewish community here. It is the Sabbath and on the Bimah (central table), the Torah is… Continue reading Day #39: The WKL

The traffic seems to hit before the city does. They’ve passed a few satellite towns and the houses are beginning to grow more densely packed. But city or not, the traffic is already terrible. Abejide is ready for that. People around here call it a ‘hold up.’ Abejide is one of eight people on the… Continue reading DAY #38: Immigrant

It’s been a very tough year. No jobs, no prospects. And then, out of the blue, my husband Horace lands an interview. No phone screen, no application. They found his resume on Monster and wanted to talk to him. What could he do? He went. And I waited. We’re on the verge of losing our… Continue reading Day #37: Thea

Our hearts are pumping as we sit in the car. We’ve just parked. We’re 20 minutes early, but the excitement is killing us. My husband has already left his job, I didn’t have one. We’re ready to go. “Are we sure we can do this?” I ask my husband. He’s an overweight man with a… Continue reading Day #36: Business

Theirs’ is a group of extremely tough-looking men. For now, they are kneeling passively, but their bodies are coiled and ready to strike out, regulations be damned. Of course, they aren’t striking out. They are kneeling, fingers interlocked behind their heads. They are prisoners, and surrounding them are 25 armed men – rifles and machine… Continue reading Day #35: Prisoners

Edward just stared at his monitor, like he did every day. Day in and day out. He watched people. He watched people getting off of trains and getting on to trains. He watched people entering stores, leaving taxis, and giving one another furtive – or not so furtive – kisses. He was a technician. He… Continue reading Day #34: Surveillance